Silver Pares Early Gains – Goldman Sachs Sees Upside To Its $5,400 Per Ounce Forecast For Gold

Spot silver price was up 1.3% at $86.4 an ounce at the time of writing, after having jumped more than 5% to reclaim $90 earlier in the session.

• Spot gold fell more than 1% to $4,899.8 per ounce.
• Silver futures for March 2026 deliveries gained around 62% to $85.1 per ounce.
• Chinese trading firm Zhongcai Futures earned more than $500 million during silver’s rout, according to a Financial Times report.

Silver and gold gave up early gains on Wednesday, after a sharp three-day selloff wiped out a large share of their year-to-date gains.

Spot silver (XAG/USD) was up 1.3% at $86.4 an ounce at the time of writing, after having jumped more than 5% to reclaim $90 earlier in the session. Silver futures for March 2026 deliveries gained around 62% to $85.1 per ounce.

Meanwhile, spot gold (XAU/USD) fell more than 1% to $4,899.8 per ounce, with futures for March 2026 delivery down 0.2% at $4,909.4 per ounce.

Zhongcai Futures Mints $500 Million From Silver Rout

Spot silver plunged 32% during a sharp selloff triggered by President Donald Trump’s nomination of former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair last Friday, creating a lucrative opportunity for bearish traders.

According to a Financial Times report on February 4, Chinese trading firm Zhongcai Futures earned more than $500 million after building large short positions in late January. The company booked profits exceeding RMB 3.6 billion ($519 million), according to disclosures from the Shanghai Futures Exchange. By February 2, Zhongcai held bearish silver futures equivalent to about 484 tonnes of the metal, valued at more than $1.5 billion.

What Are Analysts Saying?

Marex analyst Edward Meir told Reuters that gold could be at the start of a consolidation range, trading sideways rather than seeing sharp swings in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the report noted that Goldman Sachs sees risks skewed to the upside for its $5,400-per-ounce gold forecast for December 2026, supported by strong central bank buying and expected ETF inflows.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

Shares of silver miners, including First Majestic (AG) and Hecla Mining (HL), and Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS) declined on Wednesday. AG and PAAS stocks were down over 2% while HL shares fell 4%.

Shares of gold miners Newmont Corp. (NEM) declined 2.5% while Barrick Gold (B) slumped around 5%.

Meanwhile, retail sentiment for iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) remained in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory, amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.’

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